Saturday, June 1, 2013

Over the years I've become quite fascinated with old letters and receipts. I woke up this morning with the idea to collage with some of these papers. As I was looking through some folders (on my computer) I found this letter. For that moment, as I was reading it, I had to shut off my music so I could get the full effect of what was there. As you can see(below), it's a correspondence and a list of movies a woman named Loraine typed out for her partner/spouse. I love the typos and the sincere voice I can hear when I read it. I love the insight into the time period, and who women were back then, in 1945. It leaves me with questions too. Why the records? What was she doing? Who is Dick?
Old letters are sort of window into a world we can only imagine. It's like watching a movie or finding a piece of a puzzle. The day to day details are all clues to to single life that was lived, reminding us of the tiny details that make up our own struggles day to day. One letter is a fragment of a few minutes, the short amount of time it takes to write a thought. But it's sad to know that letter writing is a lost art. Of coarse, I love the convenience of email but I still think it's a important to hold on to these precious pieces of art as sort of "written snapshot" of who we are and the lives we lived.

(Sorry these are so small...I couldn't figure out how to get them bigger...you have to click on them to read them)